harleyscars Chapter 241 Dai Yun'er: I will complete a masterpiece that will astound the world;
Chapter 241 Dai Yun'er: I will complete a masterpiece that will astound the world;
Chapter 241 Dai Yun'er: I will complete a masterpiece; The Mermaid's Song
Dai Yun'er leaned her little head close to the drawing paper and looked at it carefully. Her pretty eyebrows quickly furrowed tightly together.
She pouted, somewhat dissatisfied, and said, "Fourth Brother, something feels off about your painting!"
Dai Yueyan, who was about to put away her paintbrush, paused and replied with some surprise:
"Wait a minute? Isn't this exactly what you described? Come to think of it, can anyone in this world really be that good-looking? Yun'er, are you just idealizing him in your mind?"
It's no wonder he thought that way.
The boy on the drawing paper was handsome and elegant, with an ethereal and otherworldly air. His eyes shone like stars, truly radiant and dazzling, like snow falling in a deep courtyard, untouched by the dust of the world.
Even Dai Yueyan himself, the artist, felt that his younger sister was probably having some unrealistic fantasies in the face of danger, and was putting too much of a filter on her savior.
"It's not beautification."
Dai Yun'er shook her head, racking her brains for the right words, and after a moment said somewhat anxiously:
"I feel that the person you drew, Fourth Brother, lacks the vitality that a young man should have. It's just too ethereal, too fake. Although he himself is aloof, he doesn't have this cold, emotionless quality."
"Okay, then continue, and I'll redraw it."
Dai Yueyan sighed helplessly again, resignedly placing the painting, which he considered his masterpiece, into the paper tube beside him, and then pulled out a new sheet of paper.
Soon, the second one was freshly made.
Dai Yun'er leaned closer to take a look, then shook her head vigorously again:
"This one won't do. This painting doesn't even capture one percent of his actual handsomeness."
Upon hearing this, Dai Yueyan had no choice but to pick up his pen again.
"He looks a little bit fatter in this drawing."
"Something's off about his eyes in this picture; it doesn't look like him at all."
After drawing nearly five pictures in a row, even though Dai Yueyan's soul power cultivation was now close to that of a Soul King, he felt that he could not bear such a detailed and mentally exhausting workload.
With a determined heart, he handed the paintbrush in his hand directly to Dai Yun'er.
"Yun'er, why don't you draw it yourself? Fourth Brother really can't draw anymore today."
"I'll draw it myself."
Dai Yun'er eagerly took the paintbrush, gave a soft snort, and said confidently:
"After all, my father praised my drawing skills when I was a child, so I'm sure I can draw that boy."
After saying that, she began to splash ink and paint on the paper in a very professional manner.
A few minutes later, she looked at her completed "masterpiece" and nodded in satisfaction:
"Well, although the version I drew looks the most like him in my opinion, if we're talking about using it to find someone, the first version you drew, Fourth Brother, is more reliable."
Dai Yueyan peeked at the drawing paper and saw that apart from a nose and eyes, which could be barely made out as a human figure, the rest...
It's basically impossible to tell what the drawing actually depicts.
For a moment, Dai Yueyan felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her.
He silently pulled out the first drawing from the paper tube he had previously tossed aside, and as if remembering something, suddenly asked:
"Hey Yun'er, you wouldn't happen to have fallen for that boy, would you?"
"Fourth Brother, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Dai Yun'er, who was carefully putting away her amazing painting, preparing to ask Huo Yuhao to appreciate it together when they met again, suddenly blushed like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and retorted with a hint of shame and indignation:
"Didn't our father always teach us that we should repay even the smallest kindness with the greatest gratitude? So, isn't it perfectly normal for me to find him and thank him in person?"
Dai Yueyan's lips twitched involuntarily, and she thought to herself, you'd better really just want to thank the other party.
Meanwhile, in the Imperial Study behind the main hall of the palace.
Zhu Ying knelt on one knee, facing Emperor Dai Tianling of Xingluo, who sat upright on the dragon throne, and reported in detail everything that had happened that day.
"...Your Majesty, according to the princess, that white-haired youth was only at the Soul Master level, yet he was able to fight against three Black-level mechs all by himself, which is clearly very illogical."
In particular, Your Highness's attitude towards that boy was far too abnormal; I have never seen Your Highness act like that before.
"If we hadn't repeatedly checked and confirmed that Your Highness hadn't been subjected to any mind control or memory manipulation, I would have suspected that the boy possessed some kind of special charm."
Dai Tianling rubbed his temples, his dignified face showing signs of fatigue, clearly troubled by the matter.
After a moment's thought, he slowly began to speak:
"According to Minister Zhu, it's highly likely that the young man colluded with the Green Skull organization, staging a hero-saves-the-damsel-in-distress act to gain Yun'er's trust, and then plotting against our royal family?"
This tactic of using a "hero saves the beauty" scenario to plant pawns within the enemy forces is not unprecedented in the history of the Star Luo Empire.
After all, the resistance from the original indigenous forces of the Star Luo Continent never truly ended.
However, over the past few centuries, those so-called resistance fighters have joined forces with some evil spirit masters to form the so-called Green Skull organization.
This, in turn, gave the Star Luo Empire a legitimate reason to wipe them out, and at one point put them under immense pressure.
Unfortunately, the Green Skull organization occupies two of the most strategically important provinces on the continent, and has many powerful figures stationed within its ranks. This has prevented the Star Luo Empire from completely eradicating it, resulting in the current stalemate.
Zhu Ying raised her head slightly, her steady voice carrying a rare tremor: "Based on the residual scents at the scene, I found the location of their battle."
Apart from the obvious blast marks left by the soul-guided high-explosive shells, the core area of the entire battlefield was frozen in place by strange ice crystals.
The residual heat on the ice crystals was so intense that even with my cultivation level, I felt a chill run down my spine and couldn't bear to be in contact with them for long.
"The ultimate ice?"
Dai Tianling tapped the armrest of the chair lightly with her fingers, a hint of genuine interest on her face.
As descendants of the Dai family, who were able to regain the throne of the Star Luo Empire ten thousand years ago because of the Spirit Ice Douluo, they have always had an unusual obsession and interest in the ultimate ice martial soul.
Unfortunately, even now, more than ten thousand years later, each emperor is no longer limited to marrying into the Zhu family; instead, they have married many powerful soul masters with exceptional talents.
However, in the bloodline of the Dai family, there has never been a descendant who could mutate into the ultimate ice martial soul.
This has puzzled emperors throughout history: how exactly did the ultimate ice martial soul of that ancestor, the Ice Douluo, come about?
"Your Majesty, it is not as simple as the ultimate ice."
Zhu Ying's tone became even more serious, "When my subordinates tried to shatter those ice crystals, they were almost burned by another violent flame energy contained inside."
Clearly, the young man's martial spirit was capable of simultaneously controlling both ice and fire, two extreme elements, and had reached the point where he could perfectly combine and blend these two diametrically opposed elements.
Zhu Ying paused for a moment, seemingly organizing her thoughts, before adding, "What surprised me even more was that the boy's soul was actually the legendary Dark Demon Evil God Tiger."
Such a soul spirit could never be found even within the current Spirit Transmission Tower. Moreover, the power contained within that Dark Demon Evil God Tiger was far beyond what an ordinary ten-thousand-year-old soul spirit could possess.
The tapping stopped abruptly.
Dai Tianling stood up, walked to the windowsill, and gazed at the magnificent skyline outside the palace.
His deep eyes flickered with uncertainty. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke: "The fact that Yun'er's whereabouts were discovered by the Green Skull organization indicates that there is a traitor within the palace."
With the All-Continental Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament imminent, no further accidents can be tolerated. Minister Zhu, the task of thoroughly investigating the mole will be entrusted to your personal guards. Remember to handle it cleanly and efficiently.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Zhu Ying lowered her head and respectfully responded.
Dai Tianling turned around and continued speaking:
"As for that young man, I heard from Yun'er that he will also participate in this Soul Master Competition. After he successfully registers, I still need you, Zhu Aiqing, to personally invite him over so that I can meet him."
After all, such talent is something our Star Luo Empire absolutely cannot afford to give up, regardless of whether he is truly connected to the Green Skull organization.
……
Two days later, in an inconspicuous, secluded residential area within Xingluo City.
In the center of the quiet room, Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged on a futon, surrounded by a faint gray aura that swirled with his breath.
After an unknown amount of time, Huo Yuhao suddenly let out a soft groan, and his newly opened eyes were a deep gray, filled with a deathly stillness that seemed to bring everything to an end.
But in the deepest recesses of those eyes, an extremely mysterious golden pattern flashed by, and the original deathly stillness vanished in an instant, replaced by an unprecedented sense of holiness and solemnity.
Huo Yuhao slowly extended his right index finger, the tip of which was swirling with mysterious gray energy, rapidly tracing patterns in the air in front of him.
As he finished writing, a strange gray six-pointed star magic circle appeared out of thin air and slowly floated down to the ground.
The next instant, an extremely intense gray light suddenly rose from the magic circle, completely engulfing Huo Yuhao's body.
When his five senses returned, Huo Yuhao was already standing on this familiar yet unfamiliar land.
Even after ten thousand years, this undead demiplane seems to have remained largely unchanged.
Above the sky, the black sun still emitted a dim, eerie purple light, and a chilling, pure aura of death swept in from all directions, carrying a familiar feeling that penetrated to the bone.
Standing atop the mountain and gazing into the distance, one can see vast swathes of white skeletons wandering aimlessly across the desolate land, with crimson flames of their souls flickering within their empty eye sockets.
Huo Yuhao subconsciously reached out his hand, and he could feel a damp and cold mist in the air.
Just then, from a distant place, came a melodious and beautiful song.
The song was poignant and lingering, carrying endless longing, as if telling an ancient story, or calling out to someone who had not returned for a long time.
A flash of light, and Tianmeng's petite figure appeared on Huo Yuhao's shoulder. She listened intently for a moment, then said with a hint of disbelief, "Isn't that the song of mermaids? Could it be... they're not dead yet?"
Before they set off, Elder Yi had specifically explained that when the same person from two different timelines met, something unexpected would definitely happen.
The situation where Qiu'er and Di Ruiqiu coexist is always an exception.
In addition, Tianmeng was very clear about what kind of person "she" was in this timeline.
She secretly made up her mind that if she really met him later, she would give him a smooth and continuous set of Ice Silkworm Fist, so that he would understand who Yuhao's closest and most caring silkworm was.
Huo Yuhao did not respond to Tianmeng's words immediately; his mind was completely captivated by the singing.
With a flash of silver light, his figure transformed into a streak of light, constantly traversing this undead demiplane, rapidly advancing towards the direction from which the song was being emanated.
About half a cup of tea's time later, Huo Yuhao appeared above a huge basin.
Compared to the pitch-black, lifeless land elsewhere, the temperature in this basin is significantly lower.
The soil, which was as black as ink, had long been frozen into hard black permafrost. The deeper one went into the basin, the more one could see a thick layer of white frost covering the ground, exuding a chilling aura.
Seeing this, Tianmeng, who was standing on Huo Yuhao's shoulder, began to wiggle her little wrists, waiting for the right opportunity to strike first and give that "self" a heavy punch.
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, forcibly calming the surging excitement in his heart.
The silver light flashed again, and his figure appeared directly at the bottom of the basin.
The space below the basin is not very spacious, with a diameter of only about a hundred feet.
The most eye-catching sight is a crystal-clear herb, as if carved from the most perfect gemstone, standing amidst a forest of giant ice crystals on the left.
The branches and leaves are pale blue, and at the top is a large, pure white flower shaped like an eight-pointed star, swaying gently in the cold wind, surrounded by a thick, lingering mist of ice.
On the right side of the basin, there is a small pool of water that is shimmering with a deep blue light.
In the center of the pool, floats an ice bed that resembles a piece of ancient, cold jade.
On the ice bed, a petite mermaid girl lay quietly.
Her beautiful long blue hair, like seaweed, was spread out on the crystal-clear ice bed.
The gleaming golden crown atop its head and the shimmering scales of its fish tail reflected an unusual brilliance against the backdrop of the deep blue water.
At this moment, however, her brows were tightly furrowed, as if even in her deep sleep, she was being tormented by some nightmare.
(End of this chapter)